Offshore loading buoy with hose reeling

ABSTRACT

A floating offshore loading terminal has an upper rotary hull structure rotatably mounted on a moorable lower base structure with upper and lower fluid conduit systems communicating through a swivel coupling between the structure. A motor drive rotates the upper rotary hull structure to wind flexible buoyant cargo transfer hoses circumferentially into and from a storage spool surrounding the hull structure.

United States Patent [191 Sada et a1.

[451 July 3,1973

1 1 OFFSHORE LOADING BUOY WITH HOSE REELING [76] Inventors: Charles A. Sada, 710 West 40th Street, San Pedro, Calif. 90731; Yoram Katz, 5437 Radford Street. North Hollywood, Calif. 91607 [22] Filed: May 18, 1971 211 Appl. No.2 144,599

[521 US. Cl. 9/8 P. 114/230, 137/236, 141/388, 137/355.12, 137/355.17, l37/355.22 [51] Int. Cl B63b 35/00 [58] Field of Search 137/355.12, 355.17, 137/355.22; 61/723; 9/8 P, 8; 114/230; 141/388 [56] 1 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,178,737 Brackx 9/8 P 3.247.674 4/1966 Macardicr 9/8 P X 3.372.461 3/1968 Tesson 61/72.3 X 3.422.838 1/1969 Headrick l37/355.12

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 504,166 4/1939 Great Britain 9/80 F Primary Examiner-Harold W. Weakley Attorney-Lewis M. Dalgarn [57] ABSTRACT A floating offshore loading terminal has an upper totary hull structure rotatably mounted on a moorable lower base structure with upper and lower fluid conduit systems communicating through a swivel coupling between the structure. A motor drive rotates the upper rotary hull structure to wind flexible buoyant cargo transfer hoses circumferentially into and from a storage spool surrounding the hull structure.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUL 3191a 3.742536 SHEEI 2 0F 2 INVENTORS CHARLES A. SAD/2 BY voen/m Km T2 OFFSHORE LOADING BUOY WITH HOSE REELING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to floating offshore terminals for transferring fluid cargoes between ships and the shore, and more particularly, to those providing a spooling capability for storing buoyant cargo transfer hoses.

2. Prior Art Offshore loading terminals for transferring fluid cargoes between ships and the shore provide many advantages. They eliminate the need for expensive harbor, docking and cargo transfer facilities. These have particular utility in handling the huge super tanker vessels presently in use since most existing harbors and docks are not adequate for them. Cargo transfer is accomplished much more easily and rapidly if the ships need not maneuver into port and clock. In addition, an increased measure of safety'is achieved if large heavy ships can avoid difficult and often dangerous maneuvering through congested port and docking facilities. Moreover, the remote location protects shore installations and docked vessels from threats of explosion and tire that can occur during handling of corrosive, flammable or potentially explosive cargoes, such as certain chemicals, petroleum fuels and the like.

The most widely employed offshore terminals of recent years have been of the single buoy type having a swivel coupling assembly that permits the moored vessel with the attached connecting hoses to swing freely about the buoy in response to changes of tides and weather during cargo transfer operations. Typically, an underwater pipeline connects onshore storage facilities to a junction set on the seabed beneath the terminal. Flexible underwater hoses extend upward from the junction to a stationary lower conduit system on the terminal buoy that communicates through the swivel coupling with a rotatable upper conduit system. Flexible floating cargo hoses are coupled to the upper conduit system and extend into the open sea out from the buoy.

Such cargo transfer hoses are only connected to a cargo vessel when flowable cargo is to be passed into or out of the vessel via such hoses and buoy. Inasmuch as it is impractical to maneuver such vessels very close to the buoy and inasmuch as such vessels usually are of considerable height, normally the cargo transfer hoses are quite long, usually several hundred feet or more in length. Since these hoses usually are several feet or more in diameter and quite massive, they cannot merely be retrieved and stored on deck. Therefore, when not is use, they have been left to float freely extending outward a considerable distance from the buoy where they present a considerable navigation hazard for smaller craft and can themselves sustain costly damage from collisions with larger ships. Rough seas and winds subject the extended hoses to continuous and often severe bending effects than can cause rapid deterioration and fatigue that unduly shorten useful hose life.

Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide effective means for protecting such hoses against the elements while also eliminating the risk of their being damaged or causing damage to vessels and permitting the buoy to be selectively oriented with respect to the cargo vessel so as to facilitate hose connection and cargo transfer operations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The improved floating terminal buoy of this invention provides a simple and efficient means for storing and deploying the buoyant cargo hoses for use. The hoses are spooled into compact spool storage formed around the buoy hull, except when in use, to protect them from the wear and tear of constant bending and removing them as a hazard to navigation. The entire length of hose is also made readily accessible at the buoy for periodic inspection and repair when not is use.

Motor driven rotation of the rotary hull structure provides controlled and positive relative positioning of the cargo hoses. Moreover, in one embodiment, a motor driven independently rotatable bollard structure is provided on the terminal for facilitating handling and storage of mooring lines. Thus, for example, the mooring lines can be shortened or lengthened, in response to cargo transfer requirements, ship repositioning, weather changes and the like, even with the cargo hoses connected to both the terminal and ship.

The terminal in the form of a unitary floating buoy has a fixed lower base structure that lies largely below the water line and is anchored to the seabed. An upper rotatable buoyant hull structure is mounted on the lower base structure for selective rotation by a motor drive. Preferably, the motor includes a clutch mechanism so that the upper hull structure can freely rotate about the lower base structure when not being driven. The two structures include upper and lower fluid conduits rotatably communicating through a swivel coupling, the upper conduits being coupled to the buoyant cargo transfer hoses, and the lower fluid conduits in the base structure to flexible underwater hoses leading to a pipeline junction on the seabed. The hull structure includes a bollard at the upper end thereof for securing mooring lines.

In the preferred embodiment, the buoyant cargo transfer hoses are wound within a spool structure formed around the outer periphery of the hull structure in the space between upper and lower circumferential ring fenders held by radial supports that extend outwardly to act as guideways for holding the buoyant hose between the fenders. A restraining member in the form of a collar connected to the hull structure by a cable limits the angular movement of the attached end portion of the hose to prevent acute bending and pulling forces on the hose and coupling. In the preferred embodiment, when viewed from above, the upper periphery of the hull structure has a somewhat spiraled circumferential configuration to provide an inwardly recessed alcove for protection of the cargo conduit couplings so that the attached-hose end has a tangential orientation to the adjacent hull. The bollard may also be rotatably secured to the hull structure through an independent motor drive with the mooring line being spooled for storage around the bollard.

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred form of the floating offshore terminal of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the terminal of FIG. 1 shown without the top mounted navigational lightsand warning structures;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the hull structure portion of the terminal of FIG. 1, with portions broken away to illustrate the interior thereof; and,

FIG. 4 is a partial section taken along the section lin 4-4 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Now referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings, an improved single buoy terminal is shown. Except as otherwise noted herein, the swivel coupling and bearing structures are generally similar to those particularly described in the copending United States application, Ser. No. 42,802, entitled Rotary Hull Single Buoy Offshore Loading Terminal filed June 2, 1970. Terminal 10 includes a lower base structure 12 and an upper buoyant rotary hull structure 14 disposed above and connected thereto. Structures 12 and 14 enclose and support conduits for transfer of flowable materials. Lower conduits 16 are enclosed within the lower base structure 12 and upper conduits 18 in the upper hull structure 14, with the adjacent ends rotatably interconnected through a swivel coupling, as more particularly shown and described in the aforementioned copending application and by FIG. 3 herein.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, a motor drive 20 is provided for selectively rotating the upper rotary hull structure 14 about its central axis relative to stationary lower base structure 12. As shown, the motor drive 20 includes a reversible motor 22 affixed to the upper rotary hull structure 14 to be coupled through a clutch 24 to a drive member, such as gear 26 that positively engages a circumferential spur gear track 27 or the like on the lower base structure 12 to be driven around it in either direction.

The upper conduits 18 in the upper hull structure 14 communicate at one end through a swivel coupling with one or more lower conduits 16 in the base structure l4 and extend outward through the hull plating to form external hose couplings 28 at the other end to receive the buoyant cargo transfer hoses 30, as shown in FIG. 1. In accordance with this invention, the hull structure 14 is formed with a hose spooling assembly about its outer periphery. Upper and lower vertically spaced ring fender structures 32 and 33, preferably positioned with one above and the other below the water line, extend outward from the hull to provide therebetween a cargo transfer hose storage space 34. The fenders 32 and 33 are mounted outwardly from the rotary hull structure 14 by a plurality of spaced radial support vanes36, each with a triangular shape vertically oriented, to be attached at their inner edges to the exterior hull plates. A deck plate section 38 can be secured between adjacent vanes 36 on the upper fender structure 32 to provide a boat landing with resilient bumpers 40 attached to the adjacent fender rims to cushion landings of small boats and the like. Guideways 42 are defined through one vane 36 supporting the upper fender 33 for supporting the hoses 30 adjacent the hose couplings 28.

Preferably, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower portion of the rotary hull structure 14 between the fenders 32 and 33 has a generally circular horizontal crosssection. Above that is an inwardly spiraled peripheral portion that forms a recessed alcove 68 for protecting the cargo hose couplings 28 against injury. By this means, the couplings 28 with the attached hose ends extend tangentially of the hull periphery to facilitate even spooling around the circular portion of the hull. When fully unwound, the end portion of the hoses are maintained in tangential alignment by a restraining assembly consisting of a metal collar 72 fixed to each hose 30 to be held by a cable 74 attached to a stop, or preferably a winch 75, mounted on the upper hull deck. A bollard structure 45 is rotatably mounted on the upper surface of hull structure 14 with an upright bollard 46 concentrically aligned with the vertical spindle axis of structure 14. An enlarged flange portion forms a generally horizontal platform 48 extending outward at the lower end of bollard 46 to provide a rope storage area for spooling the mooring lines 51. The bollard 46 with its rope storage platform 48 is rotatably mounted by roller bearings 52 disposed in raceways 54 and 56 formed in the concentric cylindrical surfaces on the interior of the bollard 46 and the exterior of an upward extension 57 on the hull structure 14, as shown particularly in FIG. 3. Preferably, as also shown in FIG. 3, a bollard motor drive 58 is affixed to an upper portion of the hull structure 14 with a motor and clutch 60 coupled to a drive gear 62, which intermeshes with a circular spur gear 64 secured within a reinforced rim portion 66 beneath the platform 48. By this means, bollard 46 is selectively driven to rotate in either direction relative to structure 14 to wind or unwind the mooring lines 51.

As depicted in FIG. 1, the terminal 10 may be provided with a railing 76 surrounding the upper deck and a navigational warning and locating system 78 with, for example, a flashing light and fog horn mounted on an overhead superstructure frame. Also, a roller fairlead structure 80 is included for guiding the mooring lines 51, as described particularly in the aforesaid pending application. Motor and pump access ports or hatches provide interior access from the upper deck. The motor drives 20 and 58 may employ variable or fixed speed hydraulic, electric or other types of motors as desired, which can be operated by suitable controls (not shown) easily accessible on the upper deck. In the preferred embodiment illustrated, a diesel motor and hydraulic pump arrangement 81 is shown mounted and enclosed within the rotary hull structure 14 (FIG. 3). Air intake and exhaust connections are made to the hull exterior, and hydraulic lines (not shown) from the pump are coupled to the drive motors 22 and 60 through conventional control valves (not shown).

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 3 and 4, the drive motor 22 is mounted on a support member within the hollow interior of the rotary hull structure 14 adjacent an upright stationary spindle assembly 84 secured to the top of base structure 12. The drive gear 26 of motor drive 20 meshes with the circumferential spur gear 27 affixed to the exterior wall of the spindle assembly 84 so that structure 14 can be driven to rotate around the spindle axis with upper and lower beveled roller bearings 88 and 90 engaging the inwardly beveled bearing surfaces 92 and 94, respectively. Thus the motor means 20 effects controlled positioning of structure 14 and powered spooling of the buoyant cargo hoses 30 to and from storage space 34..

In a typical operation, the mooring lines 51 from the vessel are secured to the bollard 46 from the bow of a cargo or tanker vessel. Lines from the vessel are also secured to the outer ends of the buoyant cargo transfer hoses 30, which are then unwound from storage around the rotary hull structure 14 by its rotation in the proper direction while base structure 12 remains in its fixed position. The outer ends of hoses 30 are guided, via the lines secured thereto, to the vessel and are then secured to manifold piping on the cargo vessel so that cargo transfer may proceed. The mooring linesSl may be shortened by rotating bollard 46 the desired amount with actuation of the motor drive 58. When the cargo transfer is completed, the buoyant hoses 30 are disconnected from the cargo vessel to be wound about the terminal by rotation of structure 14 in the opposite direction. With the hoses 30 wound around the upper hull structure 14, they are kept out of the way of the departing vessel and other sea traffic. During the spooling operation, the massive buoyant hoses 30 simply float into and out of the storage area between the ring fenders. An important additional advantage is obtained in that, with the surrounding multiple layers of spooled hoses 30, the vital internal elements of the terminal buoy 10 are protected from damage by even the most severe collision.

What is claimed is:

1. A floating offshore loading terminal for transferring flowable material between a vessel and a storage facility through an underwater pipeline, comprising:

a moorable base structure;

a buoyant rotary hull structure rotatably coupled on and surrounding said base structure, and having a peripheral configuration adapted for winding buoyant cargo transfer hose;

lower conduit means supported within said base structure coupled in flow communication with said underwater pipeline;

upper conduit means supported within said rotary hull structure coupled in flow communication with buoyant cargo transfer hose;

means defining a swivel coupling for establishing rotatable flow communication between said upper and said lower conduit means;

buoyant cargo transfer hose coupled to said upper conduit means adjacent to periphery of said rotary hull structure;

motor drive means for rotating said hull structure relative to said base structure to wind said hose about the periphery of said hull structure; and,

upper and lower hose retaining structures extending radially outward about the periphery of said rotary hull structure, said hose retaining structures being vertically spaced from one another above and below the waterline by at least the cross section of said buoyant cargo transfer hose to provide a horizontal spooling arrangement within which said hose is wound in multiple layers. 2. The floating offshore loading terminal of claim 1 wherein:

said rotary hull structure has a substantially rounded outer periphery for winding said buoyant transfer hose. 3. The floating offshore loading terminal of claim 2 wherein:

the portion of said upper conduit means adjacent the point at which the buoyant cargo transfer hose is attached extends outward from said rotary hull structure approximately tangential to the adjacent portion of the periphery. 4. The floating offshore loading terminal of claim 3 further comprising:

restraining means extending outward from the rotary hull structure and attached to said buoyant cargo transfer hose adjacent its coupling to said upper conduit means for maintaining the intermediate end portion of the hose when extended in an approximate tangential alignment with the adjacent rounded periphery of the rotary hull structure. 5. The floating offshore loading terminal of claim 4 further comprising:

an independently rotatable bollard structure mounted on the upper surface of said rotary hull structure concentric with its rotational axis; and, bollard motor drive means interconnecting said bollard and said hull structures for driven rotation relative to said hull structure. 6. The floating offshore loading terminal of claim 5 wherein:

said bollard structure includes an outwardly extending mooring line storage platform extending out ward from the lower edge of said bollard structure for supporting mooring lines coiled about said bollard structure. I 7. The floating offshore loading terminal of claim 2 wherein:

said outwardly extending structure includes a pair of spaced ring fenders, each of said fenders including a plurality of radially extending spaced vanes supporting a circumferential ring. 

1. A floating offshore loading terminal for transferring flowable material between a vessel and a storage facility through an underwater pipeline, comprising: a moorable base structure; a buoyant rotary hull structure rotatably coupled on and surrounding said base structure, and having a peripheral configuration adapted for winding buoyant cargo transfer hose; lower conduit means supported within said base structure coupled in flow communication with said underwater pipeline; upper conduit means supported within said rotary hull structure coupled in flow communication with buoyant cargo transfer hose; means defining a swivel coupling for establishing rotatable flow communication between said upper and said lower conduit means; buoyant cargo transfer hose coupled to said upper conduit means adjacent to periphery of said rotary hull structure; motor drive means for rotating said hull structure relative to said base structure to wind said hose about the periphery of said hull structure; and, upper and lower hose retaining structures extending radially outward about the periphery of said rotary hull structure, said hose retaining structures being vertically spaced from one another above and below the waterline by at least the cross section of said buoyant cargo transfer hose to provide a horizontal spooling arrangement within which said hose is wound in multiple layers.
 2. The floating offshore loading terminal of claim 1 wherein: said rotary hull structure has a substantially rounded outer periphery for winding said buoyant transfer hose.
 3. The floating offshore loading terminal of claim 2 wherein: the portion of said upper conduit means adjacent the point at which the buoyant cargo transfer hose is attached extends outward from said rotary hull structure approximately tangential to the adjacent portion of the periphery.
 4. The floating offshore loading terminal of claim 3 further comprising: restraining means extending outward from the rotary hull structure and attached to said buoyant cargo transfer hose adjacent its coupling to said upper conduit means for maintaining the intermediate end portion of the hose when extended in an approximate tangential alignment with the adjacent rounded periphery of the rotary hull structure.
 5. The floating offshore loading terminal of claim 4 further comprising: an independently rotatable bollard structure mounted on the upper surface of said rotary hull structure concentric with its rotational axis; and, bollard motor drive means interconnecting said bollard and said hull structures for driven rotation relative to said hull structure.
 6. The floating offshore loading terminal of claim 5 wherein: said bollard structure includes an outwardly extending mooring line storage platform extending outward from the lower edge of said bollard structure for supporting mooring lines coiled about said bollard structure.
 7. The floating offshore loading terminal of claim 2 wherein: said outwardly extending structure includes a pair of spaced ring fenders, each of said fenders including a plurality of radially extending spaced vanes supporting a circumferential ring. 